Sunday, 14 June 2015

I have been listening to various speakers, reading a few opinion pieces, keeping an ear to the ground. The talk is that there is a backlash coming, that it is building, that ordinary people have had enough of the progressive push and have started to push back.

Bucking the trend of states that have caved on religious liberty due to fear of reprisals from gay activists, Michigan passed a law Thursday offering protections to religious adoption agencies from being forced to place children in the homes of same-sex couples.

The law had broad support in the Republican controlled legislature and was signed on Thursday by Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican.

Snyder has voiced opposition to a broader religious liberty bill statewide that mirrors the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by former President Bill Clinton. RFRA protections, once non-controversial and bipartisan now face the ire of gay activists.

Some Catholic and evangelical adoption agencies in Illinois have already closed their doors instead of complying with state law that they claim violates their conscience.

The law requires that faith-based agencies give a list of adoption services that cater to same-sex couples if they can't help them do to conscience issues.The ACLU says it will explore all options to challenge the legality of the new law based on "discrimination." Private and religious adoption agencies in Michigan are eligible for and some do receive state funds. Proponents of the bill say a diversity of adoption providers only increases the opportunity that children are adopted by a loving family.

"The state has made significant progress in finding more forever homes for Michigan kids in recent years and that wouldn't be possible without the public-private partnerships that facilitate the adoption process," Snyder declared in a statement . "We are focused on ensuring that as many children are adopted to as many loving families as possible regardless of their makeup."

In his statement, Snyder said that last year 85 percent of children in the state foster care system were adopted, up from 70 percent in 2011.

The head of the largest adoption agency in the country, Bethany Christian Services, is based in Grand Rapids, Mich. In 2012 alone, the agency dealt with 188,000 people who seek adoptions, family guidance, and who are in the foster care system. CEO Bill Blacquiere spoke in 2013 on the threat faith-based adoption agencies face without religious liberty protection.

"There is growing societal pressure to confine Christian liberty," said Blacquiere, "to just a few areas such as our house of worship, family life, and personal devotions."Blacquiere is concerned too about federal measures being pushed to effectively strip religious liberty from faith-based adoption agencies.

In a statement regarding the new law, which Bethany Christian Services supports, Blacquiere declared the legislation "doesn't restrict anyone from participating in foster care or adoption, but it does preserve for faith-based agencies the freedom to be faithful to our convictions."

The Human Rights Campaign, which has worked closely with the ACLU of Michigan and Equality Michigan, called the new law "extreme.""Governor Rick Snyder has proven today that he has utter disdain for the welfare of children in Michigan and that he cares only about empowering backwards discrimination," said HRC President Chad Griffin. "This legislation keeps children in need out of the loving homes they deserve, and it sets this great state back decades."In their opposition to the legislation Human Rights Campaign declared the law "would also allow a religious adoption agency from a non-Christian faith to deny service to a straight, Christian couple."In June, a possible Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide could further erode existing religious liberty protection laws.

This is certainly welcome news. Constitutional freedom and the rule of law is still working in parts of the United States although I am certain most reading this will be simply aghast at those rednecks passing a law like this - a law that protects the religious freedom enshrined in our Constitution and reiterated by Congress in RRFA.

It is just a sorry state of affairs that this state had to reiterate it once again.

North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature has overturned a veto from their Republican governor on a bill that allows magistrates to refuse to perform gay marriages if they have a religious or moral objection.

After the state Senate had voted to overturn the veto, the House confirmed the veto by a vote of 69-41 on Thursday. The law takes effect immediately.

"Gay rights groups and Democrats who opposed the bill said after the vote that litigation challenging the law was likely to come soon," reported ABC 11.

"Republicans supporting the measure said federal laws provided religious accommodations to government officials, in keeping with the U.S. and state constitutions."

In May 2012, voters in North Carolina overwhelmingly passed an amendment to their state constitution that banned gay marriage.

Last October, a judge struck down the amendment and another judge in the state issued a similar ruling that same month regarding other suits against it.

In response to the legal decision, many state magistrates resigned from their official position rather than perform same-sex weddings.

Introduced in late January, Senate Bill 2 was primarily sponsored by Republican State Senator Phil Berger, who also serves as the Senate's president pro tempore.

"Every magistrate has the right to recuse from performing all lawful marriages under this Chapter based upon any sincerely held religious objection," read SB 2 in part.

"Every assistant register of deeds and deputy register of deeds has the right to recuse from issuing all lawful marriage licenses under this Chapter based upon any sincerely held religious objection."

The Legislature passed SB 2 only to have Governor Pat McCrory veto the legislation in late May. In a statement, Gov. McCrory argued that "we are a nation and a state of laws"

"Whether it is the president, governor, mayor, a law enforcement officer, or magistrate, no public official who voluntarily swears to support and defend the Constitution and to discharge all duties of their office should be exempt from upholding that oath," stated McCrory.

Regarding the successful overturning of the veto, the pro-traditional marriage group National Organization for Marriage released a statement praising the legislature's move.

"This is a huge victory for supporters of marriage and was brought about because of the efforts of NOM's members and others working in support of allies in North Carolina including the NC Values Coalition," stated NOM in Thursday.

"It was outrageous that Governor McCrory, a Republican, would veto this legislation and we will work with allies to hold him accountable."

The overturning of the veto comes as the nation waits for a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of state level bans on same-sex marriage.